MMA fighters in struggle for recognition in China (2)

Build the fascination

For Zhang Tiequan, the attraction of MMA was to diversify his skill base and have experiences that he could not have anywhere else.

The MMA attire such as the small, open-fingered gloves suited Zhang's grappling style of fighting and allowed him to work on his submission game. Zhang explained that in MMA, victory can be obtained through knock-out or submission, meaning forcing the opponent to tap out through manipulation of joints or chokes.

However, just because only one of them has made it to the UFC does not mean Chinese fighters have nowhere to ply their trade. They can compete in Legend Fighting Championship, Ranik Ultimate Fighting Federation (RUFF), and Ultimate Fight Alliance (UFA), also called China Mixed Fighting Alliance-1.

The rules of these homegrown promotions are virtually identical to the UFC, said Qiao.

Legend, based in Hong Kong, is a platform for fighters from across the Asia-Pacific, including China, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, Australia and Thailand.

The popularity of RUFF and UFA has suffered due to limited audiences. RUFF receives a limited international broadcast but it has not found a home on Chinese airwaves. UFA, based in Xi'an, has its fights shown on SXTV-7, a local TV channel which is only accessible within Shaanxi Province.

"We can't choose a broader TV channel because we don't have enough money," said Zhao. This reflects the awkward economic conditions of holding MMA events in China.

To gain the certificate allowing it to hold events, RUFF pays 1.2 million yuan each year to the General Administration of Sports of China, said Zhao. It was the first mainland Chinese MMA organization sanctioned by the administration, but the national sports body has not provided any fighters, despite training many top candidates.

Dai concurred with his teacher. "We are in need of athletes, but those who like MMA cannot fight because they are backed by the national sports administration," said Dai.

Awkward reality

MMA's relative newcomer status in China means many people don't understand it, Dai told the Global Times. "MMA fights need to be televised to let more people realize their glamour," he said, adding that currently international level events like the UFC can be watched online, on sites like PPTV, Sohu, Sina, and QQ, but that this is far from enough to effectively promote the sport.

Every UFC event sees audiences in the tens of thousands and many more watching on television or pay-per-view while at MMA shows on the Chinese mainland, a few hundred die-hards are the only ones in attendance.

A UFC event in Macao in November 2012 impressed Zhao. He said almost all seats were occupied. "The cheapest price for a ticket at the end was HK$1,500," said Zhao.

But TV stations have proven very reticent to show MMA. "Officials have never seen this kind of fighting, and simply dismiss it as cruel," lamented Dai. But according to Zhang Tiequan, MMA's safety record is better than those of boxing, sanshou or even soccer, despite its violent appearance.

Dai used a metaphor to compare MMA to traditional martial arts. "Fifty years ago, few Chinese could speak English. You can insist that you know a foreign language, but it doesn't help if nobody else speaks it," said Dai, adding that traditional martial arts lack real-world applications and cannot necessarily be used in self-defense.

People should be open-minded to the fascination and interest MMA can create, said Liu Suibin, a master of traditional martial arts from Sichuan Province.

Dai said efforts are being done to improve the sport's visibility but the fact that the TV industry remains shut to the sport is proving tricky to overcome. Recently, a boxing event held in Beijing's Shunyi district on January 24 was aired on the national sports channel, CCTV-5, which came as a result of compromise. There has been some limited television coverage of MMA in the past. Art of War, an MMA promotion, was approved by Wushu Sports Management Center of the Beijing sports bureau. It came into being in 2005, and was closed down in 2009.

Art of War events were broadcast on CCTV-5 in December 2006, only once and as a pay-per-view event. Its cards were later broadcast on Inner Mongolia TV for a year. However, this interest has not continued.

Dai is concerned that China is losing a potential market for MMA since the UFC holds a virtual monopoly worldwide. "Why not let the private sector enter the industry and let the market decide?" questioned Dai.

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